Proceedings of the Seminar on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development of Bangladesh; 24 May, 2008; Dhaka, Bangladesh

An Overview of Mechatronics Engineering Education in Bangladesh

Written by: M.S. Islam and A. M.Choudhury

World University of Bangladesh (WUB) is the first University in Bangladesh to offer the very special multidisciplinary, demanding as well as potential mechatronics engineering program in-line with its philosophy of utilitarian education in order to solve current and future electro-mechanical problems in industries. Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in mechatronics engineering (MTE) program introduced in January 2006 with academic assistance mentoring from the BUET and North-American Universities. This program is quite new in our country but it has launched long back in the developed countries. A graduate from this discipline will have in-depth knowledge in the multidisciplinary areas of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Information & Communication Technology, Mechanical, Industrial & Production Engineering, System Control & Robotics, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Microcontroller and Industrial Automation. This new program will enhance to develop modem technology based industries in the country and create immense job opportunities.

Effect of Non-Ionizing Radiation on Living System and Environment

Written by:M. Quamruzzaman

Electro-magnetic fields (EMF) commonly known as Non-ionizing Radiation NIR) which do not ionize the media like that of ionizing radiation (IR, i.e. α, β. γ etc). Non ionizing radiations from a varying electromagnetic field not only causes health hazards but also causes various problems or create disturbances in electronic equipment called electromagnetic interference (EMI). Realizing the importance of adverse effects of NIR, World Health Organization (WHO) has formed in 1998, the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). It is important to be acquainted with the harmful effects of NIR on living systems and also on the environment that we are living in and to find appropriate corrective measures for minimizing or controlling the NIR hazards as far as predictable.

Semi conductors with dimensions in the nanometer realm have attracted a lot of interest in recent years because their electrical, optical and chemical properties can be tuned with particle size. Nanoparticles have wide applications in optoelectronics, photovoltaics and biological sensors. In the present paper, measurement of optical bandgap and particle radius of CdS-ZnO nanocomposite thin films are made as a function of different annealing temperatures. The Hall effect experiment was performed to evaluate the carrier concentration of the films. The bandgap of the nanocomposite thin films having different molar ratios and annealing temperatures was determined without pre-assuming the nature of the optical transition. The particle radius of the films was determined from the blue shift of the bandgap. The bandgaps of the CdS-ZnO films was found within the range 2.50 eV 2.966 eV and the nature of the optical transition was found to be direct. The particle radii of the films were found to be less than 10 nm. The carrier concentration was observed to be on the order of 1016 per cm3. These studies indicate that the CdS nanoparticles are a very suitable material for the fabrication of nanoelectronic devices.

Civil Engineering Education in Bangladesh

Written by:Mustafizur Rahman Tarafdar

In this paper an attempt has been made to briefly highlight the engineering education in Bangladesh in general and education in civil engineering in particular. The paper outlined the history and background of engineering education, particularly civil engineering in Bangladesh. The survey school established in 1978 near Mitford Medical College was upgraded to Ahsanullah School of Engineering which was again upgraded as Ahsanullah Engineering College in 1947, when it was located at the present site of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET). The Ahsanullah Engineenng College was converted to BUET in 1962. Later Rajshahi, Chittagong and Khulna Engineering Colleges were established which were renamed as Bangladesh Institute of Technology (BITs). Again BITs were renamed as Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET). Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (DUET) was established to teach B.Sc engineering course to the diploma engineering students. The present annual intake, curriculum/Syllabus followed, laboratories, computer centers, libraries and other logistics were discussed. The past and present operation, management, teaching and research in the public and private universities along with their benefits, problems, limitations, finance on a uniform basis all over the country, if possible by constituting a national committee under the University Grand's Commission (UGC), were outlined. Campus on University's own lands particularly for the private university was stressed upon with request to the Govt. to help get them adequate lands from the Government khas lands at a subsidized rate if possible. We must say, private universities opened a "Second Front" an "Alternative Avenue" of higher (tertiary) education in the country providing opportunity to the students who could not otherwise qualify for the public universities. The private universities run a 3 ½ year course in civil engineering for the diploma engineers. It is found that annual intake of students in the present six private universities is increasing so also in 6 public universities. In civil engineering education, both public and private universities could at present expand horizontally by increasing students' intake , visa-vis, improvement of vital facilities and necessary logistics, etc as opening new universities, both in public and private sectors may not be financially feasible and practically possible in the near future. Govt. decision to open a new university at Rangpur is a bold step in the right direction. General universities may also open faculty of engineering with civil engineering as there is enough demand for this course in private and public sectors, govt. organizations, building developers consulting engineering firms etc. All private universities deserve commendation for expanding the horizon of engineering and other education like business studies, architecture, law etc. A comparison of curriculum/ syllabus and other facilities of some renowned universities in the world like in USA, UK and Nigeria where the author studied in the former two and taught in the latter for some time, was made and standards assessed with that of our own. The Polytechnic institutes, public institutes (20) and private (about 100) (both are estimated numbers) with their curriculum and standards are highlighted. It is suggested that the curriculum of the polytechnic institutes with improved curriculum may follow a four-year course like in National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nigeria where almost B.Sc Egg. Curriculums are followed with emphasis on mathematics and English and high grade HND holders are directly admitted into M.Sc and PhD in foreign Universities. Many, on return to Nigeria, hold high and important positions in public universities and outside as professionals.

Until very recently, gender issues have not been properly addressed in climate change, migration and protection discussions. But this is well recognized that man and women have their different role, responsibilities and consequences in the face of upcoming climate change and its multifarious consequences. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the first attempt to raise the issue of gender dimension and climate change both in the North and South for the gender mainstreaming. In the meantime, many projects in developing countries are now addressing the different situations of men and women to their different vulnerabilities to climate-induced disasters. The case of Bangladesh is not exceptional one even many projects have already been initiated to address the issue of gender dimension of climate change and climatic vulnerabilities. This paper is, thus, an attempt to focus on the theoretical aspect of gender and climate change. In addition, the paper looks into how specific gender characteristics increase women's vulnerability and how the effects of climate change affect women more severely than men. This paper will, finally, look into policies to face the challenges and mainstream gender perspectives in Bangladesh.

Infrastructure Development of Bangladesh in the Field of Civil Engineering

Written by:Md. Sekander Ali

Development of infrastructure in the field of Civil Engineering started along with the progress of civilization. At the beginning it was in the form of primitive nature such as earthen roads and houses made of mud, timber and bamboo etc. With the passage of time at the advancement of engineering knowledge, the development has reached the stage as it is today. Before British rule there was no regulatory body to run the infrastructure development works in a systematic way. Rulers used to develop roads, Buildings Garrisons according to their needs and abilities. In 1786, the British government established a military Board to regulate all matters relating to infrastructure development in the field of Civil Engineering. After partition of British India, to Pakistan Govt. established the department of Communication and Buildings (C and B) for the development of infrastructure in Civil Engineering. In 1962 C and B had been bifurcated into two departments; namely Roads and High ways and Building Directorate to expedite the development works in the field of civil engineering. After liberation Bangladesh Govt. have created several engineering cell to execute development works under different ministries. As a result development in this field has been expedited. Public Works Department (PVVD) has constructed all the Govt. buildings across and related structures across the length and breadth of Bangladesh. Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) have development road network covering almost whole Bangladesh. Thousands of buildings and industries have been constructed and established by private owners. Al the buildings and roads, bridges and industries are the development in the field of Civil Engineering. Hundreds of engineers in the Civil Engineering discipline are working in this sector. Every year almost one thousand students are graduating in Civil Engineering. Among the private Universities World University of Bangladesh is one which is offering graduation in Civil Engineering. Scope of infrastructure development in the field of Civil Engineering will last along with the development and existence of civilization.

Managing a Jammed Cobalt-60 Gamma Beam Irradiator Source, Its Recovery Attempt and First Ever Robotic Use in Bangladesh.

Written by:S. M. Fazlul Karim

A Jammed Cobalt-60 gamma beam radioactive irradiator source at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh was salvaged and brought back to its safe position with the help of a few remote control devices developed by BAEC-BUET in March 1990. The author was directly involved in the above task and had worked on behalf of BAEC participating in the design and development of a remote control collet assembly and a cutting tool device meant for operation from a safe distance free from radiation. Robotics is an important subject of study in mechatronics engineering. In here, mechanical (mecha), electronics (tronics) and computer technology are combined together to serve the purpose of automation and control in engineering fields. The work presented in this paper got recognition as the first robot in Bangladesh. The author felt the need to report the work from the point of view of robotics. The overall scenario and various other measures taken are also presented in this paper for correct reporting and sharing of experience.

Detection of Structural Damage Using Vibration Data and Mathematical Programming.

Written by:Khondaker Md. Zakir Hossan

The aims of the work are presented to frame the problem of structural damage detection and localization from a methodological point of view and to highlight those aspects of dynamic response, which is significant in the damage detection process. The whole work is based on lagrange programming system, which is based on Optimality Criteria (OC) as well as on Mathematical Programming (MP) methods. On the other hand, the analysis is performed by Finite Element Methods (FEM) as well as by transfer matrices methods. The necessary first order information's, these are the gradients of the objective and constraint functions with respect to the design variables are provided by what is known as sensitivity analysis. A matter of special concern is the optimization model which can be seen as a link between structural model and optimization code. LAGRANGE is programmed in a modern architecture by a modular structure, well-defined interfaces and an efficient data handling.